Shopping & Services

SPARTA, Mich.— On men and on women, there will be pink dresses aplenty in Sparta again this year, as the Pink Dress Run returns for its sixth year.

This year’s event will be Saturday, May 24. Tickets are already available for pre-order by calling Kelly at (616) 887-8277. The Pink Dress Run is open to men and women not afraid to put on their best pink dress. Participants enjoy an afternoon of food, drinks, fun, raffles, games and the battle for the traveling trophy.

Last year, pink dress participants raised just over $20,700 to benefit the American Cancer Society.

COMSTOCK PARK, Mich.— A new community center will officially open to the public this Saturday, Jan. 18.

The York Creek Community Center is located at 3999 Alpenhorn Dr. NW. The center services as a meeting place where local organizations can provide a variety of classes, programs and community events, free of charge.

The new facility features meeting rooms, a common area, a kitchen and a computer room equipped with 10 computers. The center is provided by York Creek Apartments but all classes and programs are run by partner organizations, including:

SPARTA, Mich.--- The date is set for a longtime Sparta business to shift to its new location.

An employee for Momber Hometown Pharmacy says the business' owners are planning to officially move to their new location the night of Valentine's Day. She says employees will be gradually moving over inventory ahead of that date. On Feb. 14, the pharmacy at 133 E. Division St. will permanently close its doors as workers move the final items over. Momber Hometown Pharmacy will reopen at its new location at the corner of Division and South State Street the next day.

SPARTA, Mich.—A business that’s been in downtown Sparta for more than 50 years is moving.

Construction crews are in the process of building a new home for Momber Hometown Pharmacy. The new facility is located at the corner of Division and South State Street, about a block down from the business’ current location, at 133 E. Division St.

Pharmacist Manager Steven DenBesten says the owners of Momber Pharmacy decided to move the business because the market conditions are right to own a facility, rather than rent.

Last year’s crop was decimated by late frosts, and the feeble harvest yielded a mere 2.7 million bushels for growers. This year, however, is shaping up to be a record year, projected to top 30 million bushels.

“This year is a limb-busting crop; some of our branches are so full with apples that they snap with a little help from the wind,” said Adam Dietrich, Michigan State University graduate and grower at Leo Dietrich and Sons, based in Conklin, Mich. “A single tree from 2013 is producing more than an 8-acre block of trees did in 2012.”

The overabundance of apples is welcomed, but it presents its own set of challenges.